OAP allowed to walk pet owls after public campaign

Pensioner Russell Burt – the ‘Owl Man’ – has had a Plymouth City Council ban on his owl-walking overturned after the public got in a flap about it.

Free to go walkies: The ban on Russell Burt’s owls has been lifted (picture posed by model owl – Getty)

The 74-year-old has been walking his feathered friends around his home town for almost 10 years without any mishaps or unfortunate pecking incidents, but the City Council said the strolls were a safety risk.

Officials were fearful that the birds could be ‘spooked’ by traffic and ‘run amok’, possibly harming people nearby.

So, they issued a kind of owl ASBO and told Mr Burt to keep them indoors.

However, the public rallied to the creatures’ cause, with the protest against the ban even reaching Conservative Party HQ.

Exasperated councillor Harry Phibbs wrote on the party’s website: ‘Why is Plymouth Council persecuting the Owl Man?’

Meanwhile, Ellis B Daw, the founder of Dartmoor Wildlife Park, wrote into thisisplymouth.co.uk, defending the temperament of the owl: ‘I have kept owls for more than 70 years.

The decision by the council to ban these beautiful birds from the public on safety grounds is crazy.

‘”A spooked bird of prey” is no more of a danger to the public than a spooked or angry seagull, or a large dog. These owls are safely tethered on a leather leash, securely held in the falconer’s glove.’

As a result of the campaign for the owls’ right to go walkies, Plymouth City Council rescinded its ban.